U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to become his top uniformed military adviser told Congress on Thursday that he would not be "intimidated into making stupid decisions," saying he would always give his best advice, regardless of pressure.

The remarks by Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley during a line of questioning about his ability to stand his ground in the Oval Office is likely to reassure Trump's critics in Congress, who worry about the risk of impulsive decisions by the president on Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan and beyond.

Still, Milley never referred directly to Trump or suggested that he expected to face any such pressure when he said he would "absolutely not" allow himself to be intimidated.